The Educational Expansion
by BlackKittee
Summary: Penny needs some advice and goes to Sheldon to get it.


**Yes, I wrote a Big Bang Theory fic. No, I have not forsaken my Doctor Who fics. Though sharing this with you is a bit scary. Writing Doctor Who is something I can do (I think), and this is uncharted teritory for me! Haha. **

**I've had this idea in my head for a while. This goes AU somewhere after the third season, but before the fourth season. Now, for the moment this is a one-shot. Let me know if you want more chapters. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, only the dvd's for the first three seasons. **

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- **

With the small stack of papers held tightly against her chest –almost like a shield- Penny stood in front of the door of 4A. She needed an opinion, and there was only one person was capable of giving her an honest one.

She could have gone to the others, but Raj wasn't really an option, because the second she walked into the room his selective mutism kicked in, and he giving her his opinion was not going to happen. She couldn't ask Howard, because… well… he was Howard…

And then there was Leonard. Sweet Leonard. Penny was certain that Leonard would give his opinion, but only the opinion that she wanted to hear. He would ask her questions and then change his opinion to suit her needs, to keep him in her good graces.

There was only one real option: Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper, PhD.

Penny was certain that Sheldon would hear her out and then give her his opinion, and thus the advice she needed. And he would do it truthfully –thank God the physicist was incapable of lying- and not shy away from trying to tell her what she needed to her. Only her Dr. Whack-a-doodle could give her one thing: reassurance.

Before she could talk herself out of it –a small part of her still doubted if she should do this- Penny opened the door and barged in. She knew that Sheldon was alone; she'd heard Leonard leaving with Howard and Raj. Sheldon was sitting in his spot, watching Star Trek The Next Generation; if she wasn't mistaken she was watching an episode of the first season, judging by the youthfulness of Jonathan Frakes. She mentally did a double take, how the hell did she know that? Probably spending too much time with the residents of 4A.

She sat down next to him, and fidgeted a little with her papers. Sheldon ignored her and continued watching the TV. Penny cleared her throat. Sheldon twitched, but his gaze remained glued to the television. Penny cleared her throat a second time.

"If you have a sore throat…" Sheldon started, "… please leave, before I catch whatever germs or ailments you are carrying around."

"There's nothing wrong with me, I'm fine," Penny answered. "I was trying to get your attention, because I need your help with something."

Sheldon sighed, and held out his hand. "Fine, give me your laptop, I will fix the a-key –I mean, really Penny, you should stop spilling all kinds of sustenance all over it- and you can be on your way and I can continue with Star Trek The Next Generation season one, episode fourteen called 11001001."

Penny held up her hand. "No, no, no. That's not why I'm here, my laptop is fine…" Penny faltered. Now that she had his attention, all of a sudden she was feeling anxious, and unsure.

Sheldon turned back to the TV, once again ignoring her, because she seemed to be lost in thought. Penny reached out to put her hand on his arm to get his attention, but stopped, she knew he hated to be touched.

"Sheldon, I would like your opinion about something," Penny said.

Sheldon muted the volume of the TV and gave her his full attention.

"About what?" he said. "What shoes go with what dress?"

Penny sighed. She knew that this wasn't going to be easy. "No, Sheldon," she assured him. She took a deep breath. "Before I ask what exactly I need your opinion about, I'm going to state a few facts. Please correct me, if you think I got it wrong."

Penny waited for his response. She could see that he was processing what she'd said. Penny had used a simple version of the way he talked to try and get across that she was serious. Sheldon nodded his consent, placed the remote to the TV on the table and turned to face her properly. Penny wasn't sure what the look on his face meant. It was a mixture of intrigue and acceptance that Penny wasn't going to go away until she had finished her business here and he was just humoring her.

Penny turned her body as well, facing him too.

"Okay," she started. "I've been living here for four years now, trying to make it as an actress. So far, I've got nothing to show for my efforts, but a lame job as a waitress, and nothing for my resume. I've received no callbacks and every audition I've ever gone to has rejected me for several reasons…"

Penny looked at Sheldon, trying to see if he was still with her so far.

Sheldon looked her in the eye. "Yes…?" he prompted.

"What do you mean?" Penny asked.

"You asked me to correct you if you were wrong," he explained, a slightly bewildered look in his eyes. "So far, your logic has not been faulty, so please continue."

"Right…" Penny muttered. She shook her head to clear it, talking to Sheldon always gave her a slight headache. "So, I've decided to fire my manager and agent, and give up on my acting career."

Sheldon's eyes widened on that reveal. "Really…?"

Penny nodded. "I realized that I'm simply not good enough. And I'm stopping wasting my time and other peoples time in the pursuit of something that is not going to happen."

Sheldon nodded in agreement. "You are quite correct in that assumption. May I now return the Star Trek The Next Generation season one…"

Penny interrupted him. "Yes, in a minute. I still have more to add."

Sheldon motioned for her to continue.

"Once I realized that, I realized as well that I don't want to continue to be a waitress for the rest of my life." Penny faltered again, realizing that she had to continue now. "You know, I had a really good time working with you in my small Penny Blossoms business. And I think that if I put a real effort into it, I could possibly turn it in a viable business."

Sheldon nodded in agreement.

"But I know nothing on how to run a business," Penny continued. She took a deep breath. "And I think you'll agree that if you don't know something one should educate himself, right?"

Sheldon's head was now resembling one of those bobble heads, because he was still nodding in agreement.

"So…" Penny said, "… I've decided to go into go back to school, and follow the classes that can teach me on how to run a business."

Sheldon looked at her, and then smiled. Not his creepy Batman-smile, not his haughty derision smile, but a real, proper smile. A smile so bright, that his eyes lit up. A smile that made him not cute, but handsome.

"Well," Penny said. "Judging from your smile, I'd say you agree."

"I do, Penny," Sheldon assured her. "Educating oneself is always a good thing. You can always learn more. And I do believe that if you really commit to your studies that you can achieve much."

"You really think so?" Penny asked. "You're not just saying stuff?"

Sheldon smile morphed into his haughty derision one. "Penny, I never just say stuff."

Penny waved her hands. "I know, I know. But this is why I came… Do you really think I can do this? I mean, go back to school and…"

Sheldon looked at her. Penny could see the precise second his brain kicked into another gear. She could see it in his eyes. A resolution and determination shone in those intelligent eyes. He sprang to his feet, and walked over to Leonard's whiteboard. He grabbed the eraser and cleared it; drew a single vertical line in the centre of the board, and on the left side he wrote 'pro's' and on the right side he wrote 'con's'.

"Sheldon…!" Penny protested. "Leonard's work…"

"… is still extremely derivative," he finished for her. "Let me ask you a question."

Penny nodded.

"What are your main concerns about going back to school?" he asked.

"Concerns…?" Penny asked.

"What would stop you from actually returning to school?" he clarified with a tight smile that Penny had learned to identify as his who-do-I-keep-spending-time-with-these-stupid-humans smile.

Penny sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Well, for one thing I can't afford it. I mean… not really…"

Sheldon wrote 'finances' on the right side of the board and then subsequently crossed it out and with another color marker wrote 'student loans' underneath it. He turned to her.

"What else?" he asked.

Penny blushed, and muttered something.

Penny was shocked that Sheldon had in fact heard it as he was now writing on the right side 'average intelligence' and once again crossed it out and in his other marker wrote 'commitment'.

He gave her a pointed stare and placed both markers on the table as he sat down next to her again.

"Penny," he said. "So far I have seen no reason to think that you should not go back to school. You are fairly intelligent, so even the most basic classes should not be problem. Now, I concede that you are not a genius like I am, but I do believe that if you really commit yourself to your studies you will succeed."

Penny felt the tears in her eyes. It was the sweetest thing anybody had ever said to her; and it had been Sheldon who said it. For all his quirks, and routines, and rules, Sheldon was truly sweet.

"You think so, really?" she asked, her voice slightly husky with tears.

Sheldon recoiled slightly in the face of emotions from a female. "Yes, I never lie, because I'm not capable of it. You are not going to cry, are you? Because if you are, I'm going to ask you to leave before you allow tears and mucus on my couch or table."

Through her tears, Penny smiled, his response was so him. She quickly wiped her nose on her sleeve, earning a disgusted look from Sheldon, and pulled the papers she had brought with her, towards her.

"Do you have a pen?" she asked.

Sheldon turned to the small table next to his spot, and pulled one from his notebook and handed it to her.

With a flourish she signed the already filled in forms.

Penny was going back to school…


End file.
